Jay Reatard

Jay Reatard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2010)

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Born: May 1, 1980
Died: January 13, 2010
Zodiac sign: Taurus
Birth year: 1980

About Jay Reatard

James Lee Lindsey Jr., known professionally as Jay Reatard, was an American musician from Memphis, Tennessee. He was signed to Matador Records. He released recordings as a solo artist and as a member of the Reatards and Lost Sounds. Lindsey became enamored of their sloppy, lo-fi music and created his brand of heavily distorted garage rock. Friedl was impressed by Lindsey's demos and signed him to his label, later commenting, "I loved the racket so we did the record, and I've been a fan of everything he's done since.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

The world when Jay Reatard was born

Jay Reatard was born in 1980. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1980

#1 song"Call Me" – Blondie
Top movieOrdinary People
Top TV showDallas
Best-selling bookThe Name of the Rose – Umberto Eco

Headlines and milestones

Major sports momentMiracle on Ice — US hockey team beats the Soviets at Lake Placid
Top headlineJohn Lennon assassinated outside his New York apartment
Technology milestoneCNN launches as first 24-hour news channel
Defining fadRubik's Cube
Notable inventionPost-it Notes (officially released)
World population4.44 billion

United States snapshot

U.S. leaderJimmy Carter
Sports championPhiladelphia Phillies (World Series)
Also wonLos Angeles Lakers (NBA)
U.S. population227.2M

1980 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Jay Reatard's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure	1980	2026
Gas	$1.19	$3.45/gal
Average home	$68,700	$435,000
Average income	$21,023	$67,500
Minimum wage	$3.10	$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket	$2.69	$11.95
Postage stamp	$0.15	$0.73
Population	227.2M	341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, MusicBrainz, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.